Monday, April 4, 2011

Magan Wants an Ereader: Kindle v. Ipad



On my continued quest for an Ereader/ Tablet I asked another one of my fellow RWA member, Kathy Tosh, about her Ereading devices.  She has an Ipad1 and a Kindle, so she decided to compare the two for me.


Does the device have a USB port?


Kindle – Yes

iPad – Yes

Can you read in the sunlight?

Kindle – Yes

iPad – Yes

Can you listen to music?

Kindle – Yes, although I never have

iPad – Yes

Can you access the internet / email?

Kindle – Sorta. I know I can send myself documents to read and edit on my Kindle, but I haven’t done so and probably won’t. I think it’s 15 cents to do it.

iPad – Yes


Can you write on this device?

Kindle – Not really

iPad – Yes

Can you edit on this device or critique?

Kindle – Sorta

iPad – Yes

What do you mainly use the device for?

Kindle – Call me a purist, but when I sit down with my Kindle, it’s to read. That’s why I wanted it.

iPad – I mainly use it to write, to surf the Internet, and yes, to play some games.

What do you like best about this device?

Kindle – I honestly LOVE both of these devices, but as I said, my Kindle is my reading-specific device. There aren’t other distractions taking my attention away from reading, which is my ultimate me-time enjoyment. Specifically, I really dig the dictionary at the touch of a button. The Kindle causes less eye strain than other devices (because it isn’t backlit). Shopping is maybe a little TOO easy, but it’s great, and since it’s directly connected to my Amazon account, they “know” me, and I get all those good recommendations.

iPad – The coolest of the cool, this is a device that you can truly customize. It does SO much. I especially love turning it on and instantly being connected to the Internet. None of that grinding away to get the computer up and running. I love that I have a computer that weighs next to nothing and is so portable. It’s fast, it’s easy to use, it’s awesome.

What do you like least about the device?

Kindle – I love everything about it.

iPad – Not having Adobe Flash

What program do you use to read books?

Kindle all the way (and the good old paper kind, too, of course).

How long is the battery life?

Kindle – Long. Depending on how much I read, I can go without recharging it for an entire weekend. I think because it’s not backlit it doesn’t use much charge.

iPad – If I use it heavily, probably the better part of a day. Depends on what you’re doing, of course. Some games suck battery life. I believe if you turn down the brightness, you can save on your battery life.


What are the graphic like?

Kindle – Pretty decent, although no color, but I’m not reading any picture books, so that’s fine with me.

iPad – Great.


What is the coolest feature of this device?

Kindle – It’s super fast to download books, and I can do it anytime, anywhere. It’s 3G, so I can shop in the car if I want (as a passenger, of course).

iPad – How much you can do, but it all depends on what YOU want to do. Our son-in-law is a doctor, and he uses one to take notes on his patients rather than dragging a computer around, so it’s a work tool (with a much longer battery life than a laptop). I love the portability of it and the ease of use. I can instantly turn it on anywhere and immediately start to work – in a restaurant, at my kitchen counter, in the car (again, as a passenger).


How much does this device usually cost?

Lucky me, I didn’t pay for either of them. They were gifts – the benefit of a significant other who hates to shop and is willing to pay not to have to! However, had I purchased them, the Kindle was around $300 at the time (cheaper now), and iPad was $800 because I got the one with 32 GB and 3G enabled.


Do you have any upgrades on this device?

Kindle – Good question. I think it automatically upgrades, which I’m pretty sure it’s done a few times but I haven’t noticed anything significant changing.

iPad – The Apps upgrade.

Do you have any apps on this device? What kind?

Kindle – No apps. This is my dedicated library. I’d call it my quiet friend in that I can curl up with it and completely unwind. That’s what it’s for.

iPad – Oh, yeah. The iPad is my wild friend that’s all over the place. It’s exciting. It’s fun.

o I have a couple of games – Angry Birds, Solitaire, and Cut The Rope (HUGE time wasters).

o Like my Kindle, my iPod is dedicated to only music, so I don’t have any tunes on my iPad, but I do have Pandora and Shazam. Both very nifty apps.

o Restaurant apps (I think I have two or three), that are kinda sorta okay, although one of them told me about a restaurant that I might be interested in that was over 1,000 miles away!

o I have a number of writing prompt apps, and they’re okay, but not great. Also, a few note-taking apps, including one that’s virtual note cards for organizing. Haven’t used them yet. I wonder if that’s significant J

o I have two “word processing” apps – One is Office Works (or something like that). It’s basically Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. I think it was $15. It’s not bad. I also have Pages, which is an Apple product. I just got it, and I think it will be easier to use than the Office Works. It allegedly will transfer to Word with no problem. I believe it was $10.

I don’t have a wireless printer yet, so I just email the documents to myself and then print them. I do, however, have a wireless keyboard. I got the Apple one, and it’s fantabulous. If you’re going to use the iPad for a lot of writing, I recommend it. Then again, wanting the keyboard could be generational.


I really love that Kathy was able to compare both systems side by side for me.  It really made it easier to compare and contrast the two devices.  I like having a just reading device that wont distract me from reading or critiquing, but I did take a trip to Best Buy and saw the coolness of the Ipad 2 this past weekend... 

Do you have an Ipad or Kindle?  Do you have anything to add?

3 comments:

  1. I have a Kindle and agree with your friend's assessment.

    The internet is available but runs slow. I participated in an online survey at a political website just to prove I could but it is a venue I recommend.
    I use it as a library. Not as a paper and pen or a Google source.
    The bad thing? It IS too easy to buy books on it.
    I purchased the entire series of Carrie Vaughn's Kitty series. *groan* Waaaay too easy.

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  2. Your friend covered everything. The kindle is for reading and as a voracious reader I love it. The Ipad OTOH, I go back and forth. I really want one, but owning an Iphone and a laptop makes the sensible part of me question it :O

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  3. I have an iTouch and the Pandigital (color screen) ereader, which works with B&N. But I want an iPAD too. With a keyboard. So I can edit, write, etc.

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